Principality of Ealdbridge
active The Principality of Ealdbridge is a micronation located in the Atlantic Ocean. It is about half the size of the Principality of Andorra. The principality consists of 5 municipalities and head of the state is Prince Kisslin II. The capital is the city of Ealdbridge. English is the official state language and in some communities Ealdburgish is a recognised regional language. Most foreign politics are taken care of by the United Kingdom. __FORCETOC__ History The island of Ealdbridge has been populated for a very long time. It was probably inhabited by Celtic tribes until the third century, when they left for unclear reasons. The island was rediscovered in the eleventh century by Viking sailors, but they never settled. The first permanent settlements arose in the thirteenth century when German settlers arrived. They brought the Ealdburgish language as we still know nowadays, together with many cultural practises that can still be seen today, like for example local cuisine, Christianity and the entire idea of a principality itself. In 1687 the Dutch seized the island, but they sold it to England in 1704. A clear influence of the Dutch is the wide spread of Calvinism. England immediately took over the crown function and the Prince's function became more useless with time. The function did remain however until 1963 when it was abolished as a result of "collaboration" with the rioters. In 1727, the Sanktmarck Storm devastated all coastal towns and decreased the island's population. A lot of working-class people migrated to mainland Britain for economic reasons in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, while the island remained a popular outpost for the wealthy. Ealdbridge survived both World Wars practically undamaged, but the Freyhit Criek (War of Independence) from 1962 until 1967 did leave a mark on the country's settlements and cultural ideas. In 1967, Ealdbridge was officially recognized as an independent, souvereign state by the United Kingdom. In the same year, it became a member of the United Nations and in 2011 it joined the United Micronations. Administrative division Ealdbridge is devided into 5 municipalities and 22 communities, of which three have been granted city rights. Politics The national government is composed as following: * Conservative coalition: 6 seats ** Christian Democrat Party: 3 seats (PM George Flench, Chm. Harold Ealdsen, Ron Smith) ** Evangelist National Party: 3 seats (MoF Martin Fisherman, Donald Horckplough, William Phlegm) * Liberal opposition: 1 seat ** Liberal Ealdburgish Party: 1 seat (Jamie Bruggle) * Minority opposition: 1 seat ** Ealdburgish Cultural Party: 1 seat (John Geimfrayth) * Progressive opposition: 3 seats ** Green front: 1 seat (Mary Smith) ** Labour Party of Ealdbridge: 2 seats (OL Gary Martins, Susan Sclendle-Smith) Transportation The country lacks a public airport, although there are two private airfields that are open to the public. These are located at Steanbergness and in the Leekwould. There are no major roads as cars are quite rare. There are gas stations in Ealdbridge, Stockhame and Meter-Fairness. Most people simply use the public transportation system that consists of several bus lines, though only in Northfields, Southlands and the area around Oamonth, and a railroad network. Now follows a list of train stations starting from the capital city. Defunct railway stations are in italics; halts with an office are bold: Category:Micronation Category:Principality of Ealdbridge